La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Albuquerque Midtown — Hotel in Albuquerque

It seems like I am frequently fooled by the photos and positive reviews posted on hotel websites, as this actually looked and sounded like a fairly nice property. Albuquerque has some wonderful hotels and some beautiful areas, but this was neither. In hindsight, some of the online reviews seemed to be so artificially positive, feigned, and disingenuous that I had to wonder if these guests weren't paid or compensated in some way. With that in mind, I was instantly skeptical about the sign taped to the front desk which basically states, "If you feel like leaving anything but a 5-star review, call this number..." What does that mean? If I call and eventually leave a 5-star review, you'll give me something in return? That seemed clearly suspicious. As soon as we pulled into the driveway, it was immediately obvious that this property was visibly tired (at least on the exterior) and in an unappealing industrial area, complete with homeless people camping on the sidewalk adjacent to Menaul Blvd. I have had positive experiences with La Quinta in the past, so this was a bona fide disappointment. Upon check-in, the front desk agent, Marie, was truly efficient, kind, and helpful, and got us into our room quickly. The room itself was nothing special, but other than a few cosmetic drawbacks (like crayon scribbles all over the air conditioning unit) it was okay. The biggest problem was that the shower curtain rod was not mounted securely making the curtain droop. Added to the fact that the shower curtain seemed like it was too small, this left the entire bathroom floor flooded when we used the shower. We tried to make the curtain cling to the shower walls to prevent this, but to no avail. Water everywhere... The swimming pool/hot tub area is spacious, but was very dimly lit that evening due to at least one light fixture being out of service. There were no towels in the pool area, and when I walked, dripping wet, to the front desk, was notified that I had to sign out towels, and that there would be a $25 charge per towel if not returned. I've never experienced this before in a hotel, but frankly this makes a powerful statement about some of people who stay here. On the upside, I was pleasantly surprised that the towels made available to check out were of outstanding quality, but that still did not make me feel like stealing them. At around 1 a.m., my wife, three children, and I were startled awake when the fire alarm went off. While we were stumbling around getting dressed the alarm stopped, but the hotel staff knocked on our on door and told us to exit the building. After roughly 20-30 minutes (we waited in our vehicle as it wasn't exactly warm outside), the staff gave the all-clear and we returned to our room. The commotion was unsettling and inconvenient, and made it difficult for us to get back to sleep. In all fairness this wasn't the hotel's fault, but a hotel is only as good as its clientele, and this one seems to attract some guests who are far from ideal. We were informed that the alarm was most likely triggered by someone smoking in their room. Breakfast was bland and unsatisfying. We went down at around 9 a.m., and were told they were already out of potatoes. Yet another disappointment. On a side note, the luggage cart was like a bad joke: small, wobbly, and nearly unusable. We would almost have been better off schlepping all of our belongings by hand. To be fair, the desk agent mentioned that the manager had recently ordered some "real" ones. I couldn't help but wonder if guests were stealing them as well, which wouldn't surprise me in the least. To end on a favorable note, the morning desk agent, Debra, was remarkably kind, warm, friendly, accommodating, and professional. She left me with an exceptionally good feeling which really meant a great deal after a generally negative experience at this hotel. It seems unnecessary to say that we will never stay here again or recommend this hotel to anyone, but I wholeheartedly commend the...

June 2023 UPDATE - The hotel responded dismally to the email I sent directly to management so I revised my review down another star. The hotel response didn't address my main concern of the pet fee, nor to the gym being closed or the moths in the hallways and our hotel room. Do yourself a favor and stay elsewhere. Below is the full response from the LaQuinta:

"Good morning Ms. Murray, I am sorry for the delayed reply. We are very sorry to hear that your stay did not meet your expectations. We hope that you can give us another opportunity to serve you in the future. We have been in the process of renovations and have already corrected the stairwells. We are also in the process of re-seeding the courtyard and have already addressed the front desk to ensure that they correct their reactions to our guests. Sincerely, Michelle Safley-Redmon Vice President, Operations"

I replied to Michelle's email and she eventually offered to refund me the $25 pet fee but it was contingent on not reviewing the hotel: "Lisa, My sincerest apologies of not completing addressing your concerns. As far as the pet fee – we have an option to have a pet fee with the brand. I am happy to issue you a refund of $25 for the pet fee due to you having the issues you did. I will refund you $25 if you can not leave a review of our hotel. Again, my sincerest apologies."

I've reviewed the hotel and did not receive a pet fee refund.

May 2023 review - I will preface this review to say this LaQuinta posts signs throughout their hotel saying if you will be leaving less than a 5-star review, to message the hotel directly. I emailed the hotel 4 business days ago about our issues but have yet to receive a response.

We stayed at the La Quinta on Menaul Blvd on 5/25/2023 and were disappointed. We stay at La Quintas because I don't like to pay pet fees when we travel with our dog. When my husband checked us in, he was informed of a pet fee. I did not see this fee when I made the reservation. Afterwards, I checked this LaQuinta's website and saw the $25 fee but I feel like a chain that traditionally doesn't charge a pet fee (and is known for this courtesy) should highlight a pet fee on the reservation page to avoid confusion.

The hotel has a moth problem and there were a number of moths in our room and the hallways. It made the room feel unclean. Unfortunately, the gym was closed and the hotel didn't disclose this prior to our stay.

Because we travel with a dog, we use the stairs instead of the elevator. The stairwells were full of long boxes of baseboards & construction materials that were laid over the stairs. There was construction debris on the landings. We used the stairs from 6pm to 10pm so there was no installation at this time but it was hazardous and messy. Finally, the ice machine on the 3rd floor wasn't plugged in so it was yet another inconvenience.

The front desk clerk did not ask how our stay was when I checked out. I let him know I was not happy with the $25 pet fee. He didn't seem interested. Because of his lack of interest, I didn't raise the...

This is a convenient place to stay and is our second stay within one week. This review covers our second stay. We have a small dog, and they do take dogs. This is one reason why we chose to stay here. The staff were very friendly and helpful. There are some issues, however. If this place has been recently remodeled, they need to get with the contactor about some issues. The king size bed mattress was not centered on its frame. On one side the metal supports jutted out to the point one can injure their shin if they were not careful. I was not able to move the mattress by myself. In the bathroom the tub faucet was not fully screwed into the wall. You could see the water pipe. The knob one needs to push/pull to get the shower to operate would not move up or down until it was lightly tapped several times. It appeared to be seized by calcium carbonate scale. Once tapped loose it worked. The tub itself appears to have been painted at one time. Some of the paint was peeling away. There is inadequate anti-slip material on the bottom of the tub, and this left the tub rather slippery. We laid a bath towel down and stood on it and this worked to keep us from slipping. The area where one walks their dog is crushed rock and gravel. Our small dog did not like walking on it as the gravel tended to get trapped within her paw pads. Several other hotels/motels in which we stay have a pet walking area that is either grass or artificial turf. Our dog likes these areas. I know it is the responsibility of the guests using this facility for their animals, but several people fail to pick up after their dog. It is not good for one's pet or its owner to walk in and around dog feces. Someone needs to go through that area with a rake and clean up the dried poop. Breakfast was not as good as I remember it from past visits. The morning of our departure we arrived about forty-five minutes to an hour into the breakfast hours. There were about ten guests in there eating. I found the scrambled eggs and sausage patties to be rather cold. I took the last of the eggs in the server. The lady told me she was making more, and they would be out soon. She was true to her word, but it appeared she was using an electric pan of a rather small size. She could not make large batches of eggs due to its size. Where the sausages were being cooked, I did not see but she needs a better set up in my opinion. Lastly, this motel sits in a rather 'low rent' part of town. The homeless and the transient are all around. I had no trouble with any of them, but one guest told me his car had been broken into and vandalized when he stayed there in the past. That is why I do unload all valuables from my car during my stay. I will say once again that all the staff were very helpful, polite, and professional during my stay. I did leave a written comment as to the bathroom and bed issues with the front desk when I checked out. The lady behind the counter was most gracious and I thanked her for...